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Current intro and renewal prices
| Plan | Intro price | Term | Renews at | Websites | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49/mo | 48 months | $10.99/mo | 3 websites | 20 GB SSD |
| Hostinger Unlimited | $3.49/mo | 48 months | $16.99/mo | Unlimited websites | 50 GB NVMe |
| Hostinger Cloud Startup | $7.99/mo | 48 months | $25.99/mo | Unlimited websites | 100 GB NVMe |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99/mo | 36 months | $9.99/mo | 10 websites | 10 GB NVMe |
| Bluehost Business | $6.99/mo | 36 months | $13.99/mo | 50 websites | 50 GB NVMe |
| DreamHost Web Hosting Launch | $2.89/mo | 12 months | See vendor | 25 websites | 25 GB NVMe |
Official list prices checked Oct 30, 2026, before tax. Sources: www.hostinger.com, www.bluehost.com, www.dreamhost.com.
| Plan | Renewal vs intro | Intro term total |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | 4.4× ($2.49 to $10.99) | $119.52 for 48 months |
| Hostinger Unlimited | 4.9× ($3.49 to $16.99) | $167.52 for 48 months |
| Hostinger Cloud Startup | 3.3× ($7.99 to $25.99) | $383.52 for 48 months |
| Bluehost Starter | 2.5× ($3.99 to $9.99) | $143.64 for 36 months |
| Bluehost Business | 2.0× ($6.99 to $13.99) | $251.64 for 36 months |
| DreamHost Launch | Not shown in our capture | $34.68 for 12 months |
Calculated from list prices checked October 31, 2026, before tax.
What a plan really costs over five years
Take Hostinger Premium. Four years cost $119.52, then year five at $10.99 a month adds $131.88. The five-year total is $251.40, or $4.19 a month on average, not $2.49.
Bluehost Starter: three years cost $143.64, then two years at $9.99 add $239.76. Five years total $383.40, or $6.39 a month.
The right comparison is always total cost over the time you expect to keep the site. The renewal cost calculator does this for every plan we track, for one to six years.
Why hosts price this way
Shared hosting costs the host very little per extra customer, and customers rarely move once a site is set up. So hosts compete hard on the first-term price and recover the margin at renewal. Long prepaid terms lower the host’s risk and lock you in. None of this is hidden, but the renewal price is usually in smaller print.
How to pay less
- Buy the longest intro term you will really use. Four years at the intro price is far cheaper than one year at intro plus three at renewal.
- Check the renewal price before you buy, not after. Note the date your term ends.
- Turn off auto-renew for add-ons you do not need, such as paid SSL (free Let’s Encrypt certificates are standard) or site-scanning extras.
- Ask before renewing. Hosts sometimes offer a discount to customers who are about to leave.
- Move when it pays. Migrating a WordPress site takes an hour or two. If a new intro deal saves more than that is worth to you, switch.
- Consider a VPS. A monthly-billed VPS has no renewal jump. If you run several sites, it can cost less than a shared plan’s renewal; see shared hosting vs VPS.
A renewal checklist: 30 days before
- Find your renewal date and price in your hosting account’s billing section. Note whether auto-renew is on and which term it will renew for.
- Check what you actually use. If you run one small site on an unlimited plan, a smaller plan may renew for less.
- Price the alternatives for the same period, including a new intro deal elsewhere and a monthly VPS, with the renewal cost calculator.
- Ask your host for a better rate. Mention the alternative you found.
- If you move, start early. Migrate and test before the renewal date, and keep the old hosting until DNS has switched and you have checked email, forms and SSL.
- Remove add-ons you do not need before they renew.
VPS renewal prices
VPS pricing follows two models. Hostinger discounts long terms and renews higher, like its shared hosting. DigitalOcean and Vultr bill monthly (or by the hour) at one price, with no intro discount and no renewal jump.
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Transfer | Price | Renews at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger KVM 1 | 1 | 4 GB | 50 GB NVMe | 4 TB | $6.49/mo24-mo term | $11.99/mo |
| Hostinger KVM 2 | 2 | 8 GB | 100 GB NVMe | 8 TB | $8.79/mo24-mo term | $14.99/mo |
| Hostinger KVM 4 We use this | 4 | 16 GB | 200 GB NVMe | 16 TB | $12.99/mo24-mo term | $28.99/mo |
| DigitalOcean Basic 2 GB | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB SSD | 2,000 GiB | $12.00/mono contract | Same |
| DigitalOcean Basic 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | 4,000 GiB | $24.00/mono contract | Same |
| Vultr Regular 2 GB | 1 | 2 GB | 55 GB SSD | 2 TB | $10.00/mono contract | Same |
| Vultr Regular 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | 3 TB | $20.00/mono contract | Same |
Official list prices checked Oct 30, 2026, before tax. Sources: www.hostinger.com, www.digitalocean.com, www.vultr.com.
Even after renewal, Hostinger’s KVM 2 at $14.99 a month gives 2 vCPU and 8 GB of RAM, while $12 to $24 a month at DigitalOcean buys 2 to 4 GB. Monthly billing is worth paying for when you need flexibility, such as short projects or servers you resize often.
Domain renewal is extra
Many hosting plans include a free domain for the first year only. After that, the domain renews at the registrar’s normal rate, which is separate from your hosting. Check it before you assume the free domain is a saving for the whole term.
Intro prices are discounted for new customers and usually require a long prepaid term. Renewal is the host’s regular price, 2 to 5 times higher for the shared plans we track. Usually not on the same account. Some hosts offer retention discounts if you ask, and moving to a new host gets you a new intro price. If you are confident the site will last four years and the plan fits, yes; it locks in the lowest price for the longest time. If you are testing an idea, a shorter term costs more per month but less up front. Of the shared plans we track, Bluehost Starter renewed lowest at $9.99 a month, with Hostinger Premium at $10.99. Monthly-billed VPS plans from Vultr and DigitalOcean start at $5 and $6 with no renewal increase.Frequently asked questions
Why is my hosting renewal so expensive?
Can I get the intro price again when I renew?
Is a 48-month hosting plan a good idea?
Which hosting has the lowest renewal price?
Sources
We run our own WordPress sites on shared hosting and on a VPS, and use AI coding tools every day. We publish what we measured, list every price with the date we checked it and label anything we have not tested ourselves. About us · Editorial policy